Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a jungle gym with which infants can play indoors and which can be folded up for storage and a jungle gym joint that can be used for this jungle gym.
Description of the Related Art
There have conventionally been proposed jungle gyms with which infants can play indoors. These indoor jungle gyms are made up of a combination of a plurality of three-dimensional or solid frames and can constitute indoor play equipment with which infants can play entrancingly indoors as they do with jungle gyms set in outdoor play yards such as a park.
These indoor jungle gyms tend to be formed large in size. Owing to this, when not in use, the jungle gyms need to be folded up compact for storage, and to make this happen, as joints where constituent pipes are connected, joints are used which include folding portions where the pipes are folded. Then, these folding portions include a lock mechanism for preventing the pipe connected thereto from being folded in an abrupt and unintended fashion when the jungle gym is used. For example, a joint unit of a folding jungle gym disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3102074 includes a rotation preventive cover sleeve that is provided so as to move freely back and forth at a pivotal connecting portion between a fixed pipe joint and a rotatable pipe joint. Then, a lock pin is provided on the movable pipe joint to which a pipe is connected, and a lock pin receiving hole is provided on the rotation preventive cover sleeve.
When using this jungle gym, the rotation preventive cover sleeve is placed over the pivotal connecting portion. Then, the rotation preventive cover sleeve is brought into abutment with the rotatable pipe joint, whereby the pipe is prevented from being folded at the pivotal connecting portion. At the same time, the lock pin on the rotatable pipe joint fits in the lock pin receiving hole on the rotation preventive cover sleeve, whereby the rotation preventive cover sleeve is prevented from rotating about an axis thereof. In addition, when folding up this jungle gym, the lock pin is pushed in so as to be removed from the lock pin receiving hole. Then, the rotation preventive cover sleeve can be moved away from the rotatable pipe joint along the pipe.
In the jungle gym joint described above, the rotation preventive cover sleeve is operated to move towards or away from the folding portion of the pipe that represents the pivotal connecting portion to restrict the folding of the pipe or release the restriction of folding of the pipe (that is, the folding up of the jungle gym). Here, after having released the folding of the pipe, the rotation preventive cover sleeve is not locked on any member. Then, the rotation preventive cover sleeve moves abruptly and unintentionally during a storing operation of the jungle gym from time to time, resulting in a risk of the traveling distance of the rotation preventive cover sleeve being extended long along which the rotation preventive cover sleeve needs to travel to restrict the folding of the folding portion in deploying the jungle gym again.